Pressing machine



Dec; 6, 1932 J. P. SINGISER PRESSING MACHINE Filed Aprii 1a, 1930 s Sheets-Sheet I H v INVENTOR M0 5/7/30 Dec. '6, 1932. J. P. SINGISER I PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 18, 1950 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2" INVENTOR Jo/m n flay/liar I Dec. 6, 1932.

J. F. SINGlSER 1,890,341

PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 18. 1930 s Sheets-Sht s INVENTOR Patented Dec. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES.

7 JOHN P. SINGISER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN LAUEN'DRY MACHINERY COMPANY, OFCINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO PRESSING MACHINE Application filed April 18,

i the operator from initiating the closing of the press while still having the hands upon the buck. Some of thesesafety devices have embodied the so-called two hand control whereby use of both hands is required to cause closing of the press.

One object of-my invention is to provide a two hand control whereby it is necessary for both hands to be used in initiating the closure of the press, one hand, when used alone, having no efiect thereon.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for applying pressure and holding the press in closed position after it has been moved thereto, while, at the sametime, permitting the operator to release the controls necessarily operated to initiate closing of the press.

Still another object .of my invention is to provide a press wherein means'are provided for initially closing the press by actuation'of a power means, together with means for further actuating the same power means tobring about effective garment pressing pressure between the pressing members after the means for causing initial closing of the press is no longer effective due to release of the control means for causing initial closing of the press.

' A further object of my invention is to provide a means for causing opening of the press that is independentof the controls for initiating the closlng thereof. 1

Various other objects of my invention may be seen in the following detailed description and one embodiment thereof may be seen in the accompaning drawings wherein similar characters of reference designate correspond- C3, parts, and wherein:

1930. Serial No. 445,339.

Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing the i right hand side of a pressing machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showa ing the left hand side ofthe machine.

Fig. 3 is a sectional diagrammatic view showing the operating means for the press. Fig. 4 is a detailed elevation of the system .of levers for controlling the'length of time the pressing members are held in closed positlon or the opening of the press.

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of a part of the control means shown in Fig. 4-. but viewing it from the opposite side. I

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the valve for controlling 'the supply of a supplemental fluid pressure to the operating means for the press.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the type of press preferably employed comprises a frame member 1 having an upwardly extending portion 2 on which is pivotally mounted a head lever or pressure arm 3. A pedestal 4 on the frame 1 supports a lower pressing member or buck ,5 that is c'overed by the usual padding and the head lever'or pressure arm -3 carries an upperpressing member 6 to which heat is supplied by steam pipes 7. Springs 8 are connected at their upper ends by means of the swivel block and pinarrangement 9 to one end of the head lever or pressure arm 3, and

.at their lower ends to the machine frame as at 10. Such springs tend to maintaint-he headlever or pressure arm 3 in the positions shown in. Figs. 1 and 2 and to move the head lever to such position. That is, the sprlngs 'tend to maintain the pressing members 5and 6 in separated relation, the distance of separation being'such as to permit convement access to the lower pressing memberor buck v 5 for the arrangement of the work to-be placed thereon. I

. The means for moving the upper pressing member 6 into engagement with the lower pressing member or buck 5 against the resistance of the springs18 consists of a fluid pressure operated mechanism adapted to move the head lever or pressure arm 3- through the medium of a toggle mechanism .0

comprising an upper link member 11 hav-- ing one end thereof pivotally connected to of thelink members 11 and 1-2 being pivotally connected together as at 13. 4

The rearward end of a piston rod 14, con- I nected to a piston 15 in acylinder 16-at one 7 source of supply ,(not shown) and into the of its ends, is pivotallyconnected as 2115 17 to the lower link member .12 a short distance below the pivotal connection 13 between the free ends of the link members 11, 12 that obviously form a toggle mechanism. The purpose of connecting the piston rod 14 atsuch point is to permit an increased separation between the pressing members 5 and 6 by a shorter throw of the piston and iston rod. The cylinder 16 is mounted on'pins 18 into the casing against the resistance of the spring 35 and the spring22 to move the valve. 21 from its seat,.the operating handle 38 being retu ned to its normal position when and is free to oscillate about such pins.

lVhat has thus far been described is old and well known in the art.

Fluid pressure means embodying either steam or air may be employed for moving the piston 15 in one 'directionin the cylinder 16 to effect engagement of the pressing members 5 and 6. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the means for supplying fluid pressure to the cylinder 16 embodies a main supply pipe 19 which maylead from a suitable\ supply side of a casing 20 containing a valve 21 which controls the flow of fluid through the casing and is normallyheld againstits seat to prevent flow of fluid by means of a spring 22 hearing against the uppersurface of the valve 21. A conduit 23 that may or may not be flexible connects the discharge side of the valve casing 20 to the supply side of a casingv24', substantially the same as the valve casing-her'einbefore described, containinga valve 25 normally held against its seat to prevent-passage of fluid pressure through the casing by means of a' spring 26 hearing against the upper surface of the valve.

The discharge side of the valve casing24 is connected by means of a conduit 27 to a' cylinder-.28 containing acombinedpiston and valve'member 29 and such cylinder is con-. 3

nected adj aeent its uppermost end to the cylinder 16 by means of a passagewayor. conduit 30. As shown, when in inoperative position, the space between the larger surface of the piston 15 and the corresponding surface of A the cylinder 16 is normally connected by way of the passage or conduit 30 and the passage or conduit 31 with an exhaust conduit 32 embodying-a mufller 33, the exhaust conduit beingof such size and nature that the pres- I sure between the larger surface of the piston 15 and the corresponding surface of the cyl inder16 may exhaust to the atmosphere with such speed as to permit an"exceptioi1 ally quick separation of the pressing members by action of the springs 8.; Y

v in the casing 20 and bears a ainst the undersurface of the valve 21. uch' pin is normally held in its retracted position by means of a spring 35 disposed around the pin and having one end thereof abutting against the lower end of the casing and its opposite end abuttingagainst a clevisarrangement 36 rigidly connected to the outermost end of the pin 34. Such clevis arrangement is, in turn, pivotally connected to a downwardly depending post 37 of an operating handle 38 which is pivotally mounted as at 39 to the under side of a work supporting'table 40; With this arrangement, depression of the hand lever 38' will cause the pin 34 to be moved inwardly relieved o depressing force by the action of such springs in the opposite direction.

Likewise, the means for moving the valve 25 from its seat consists of apin 41 extend ing within the case 24 and abutting against the under-surface of the valve 25,'the lower end of the pin 41 being rigidly connected to a clevis arrangement 42 which is, in turn, pivotally connected to a depending portion 43 .tain' the pin 41 in its "retracted positioniand the hand lever 44 in its normal'inoperative position; The operation of this valve is the" same as the operation of the valve-21, depression of the hand lever 44 causing forward movement of the pin 41 to move the valve from'its seat, the spring 26 tending to return the valve 25 to its'seat and, with the aid of the spring 46 tending to return the operating handle 44 to its normal inoperative position.-

When both supply valves 21,25 are opened, as described, pressure flows through pipe 27 'to*the chamber in cylinder 2 8 ,'advancing the "valve 29 to a position where it closes exhaust to the chamber 31 and permits p'ressureto flow through the passage 30 to the chamber of the main pressure piston 15 ,lc'ausing the same to move over and close -the press. If the hand operators for valves 21' and 25 areimmediately released, said valves close and the pressure supplied to the main piston chamber would quickly dissipate past the piston and valves and reduceto a value permitting valve 29 to return and the press to open, -un-' less some means is provided for: avoidingsuch operation.

In accordancewith my invention and asi forms an integral part of a link 49 p cylinder 28, as shown in Fig. 1. With this 15 later described, means have been provided for producing pressure between the pressing members 5 and 6 after they have been brought into engagement and the means for bringing the members into engagement has become ineffective, such pressure continuing until re leased by manually operated mechanism separate and apart from the mechanism for controlling the initial closing of the press. As shown in Fig. 3, the extreme outer end of a piston rod 47 which forms partof the piston 29 is pivotally connected to an arm 48 which ivoted as at'50 to anear on the cylinder 16 y any suitable form of relatively loose connection to compensate for arcuate movement of the arm 48. A link 51 is pivotally connected to the opposite end of the link 49 and the lower end of this latter link is, in turn, pivotally connected to a foot treadle 52 that is pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine as at 53.

The outer' endof the foot treadle '52 is normally maintained in its lowermost position by a tension spring 54 which, through the parts just described, tends to maintain the.

piston 29 in its rearwardmost position in the construction, after the piston 29 has been moved to its forwardmost position to admit fluid pressure to the larger surface of the piston 15 and move the plston forwardly to close the press and the foot treadle 52 has been moved upwardly throu h the link connections heretofore describe pressure will be supplied to and maintained between the larger surface of the piston 15 and the cor.- responding surface of the cylinder 16 until the foot treadle 52 is depressed, which will move the piston 29 rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the fluid ressure between the larger surface of the plston 15 and the corresponding surface of the cylinder 16 may exhaust to the atmosphere through the conduit 30 and mufller 83. Then, the pressing members may be separated by action of the springs 8 since no resistance to the rearward movement of the piston is present. Thus, a means is provided whereby the pressing members may be initially brought into engagement and. then moved to exert pressing pressure and'maintained in such pressing pressure exerting position irres ctive of whether or not the control means 1s released and the supply of pressure from the normal control means to the piston is cut off by clo sure of the valves 21 and 25 Such supplemental fluid pressure insures that ressing pressure will be exerted on the goods to the supply side of the valve casing from any desired source and in any desired manner and, when the valve is open, such fluid pressure flows from the delivery side of the valve casing to the cylinder 28 by way of a conduit 58.

The means for moving the Valve 56 to open position embodies a valve stem 59 that bears against but is not attached to the valve 56, the stem having one end thereof bearing against an arm 60 that forms an integral part of a lever 61 and extends laterally therefrom. Such lever 61 is pivotally connected to the cylinder 16 asat 62 andprovided on one of its ends with a weight element 63 and a roller 64, which roller is adapted to ride on a guide 65 thatis rigidly attached to andreciprocates with the piston rod of the piston 64, dropping into and following the cutaway portion 66 of the guide 65 and the arm 60 will be moved towards the valve casing 55 which will move the valve stem 59 into the ,casing and raise the valve 56 from its seat to permit fluid pressure to flow through the conduit 58, cylinder 28 and conduit 30 to the cylinder 16. 'This supplemental fluid pressure will cause the desired pressing pressure or squeeze between the pressing members by moving the piston 15 farther forwardly. Such supplemental fiuid pressure may be iii conjunction with the fluid pressure effective to.cause initial closing of the press by holding the control handles in their depressed position andthe valves 21 and 25 open or such pressure may be effective alone, the control handles being released and the valves 21 and 25 being closed by action of the springs .22 and 26.

r The rearwardmost end of the lever 61 normally lies under a lug or extension 67 on the arm 48 that forms a part of the link 49.

However, when the piston 29 is in its forwardmost position, the lug or extension 67 is moved awayfrom the end of the lever 61 as shown in Fig. 5. When the foot treadle 52: is depressed, the lug or extension- 67 engages the end of the lever 61 to move the lever about its pivot 62 to the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, whereupon the spring 57 will be effective to close the valve'fifisimultaneously with movement of the piston 29 rearwardly to permit the fluid pressure between the larger-surface of thepiston and the corresponding surface of the cylinder 16 to exhaust to the atmosphere, topermit the pisandthe Referring to the drawings and the members are closed and final pressure is applied from the separate source, such final pressure willpersist irrespective ofwhether or not the control means are released and the supply of fluid pressure eflective to cause such initial enga ement of the pressin members is cut ofi'. leans arealso provided for releasing the pressure on the motor means so that the pressing members ma be moved out Such means for bringing aboutthe desired press. However, the means for releasing the of engagement, this means ein separate and apart from the control means or causing initial engagement of the pressing members.

Another advantageous feature of my invention resides in the fact that I have provided means for further actuating the same motor or power -means after the control means are operated to. cause initial engagement of the pressing members and then released, to bring about the desired pressing pressure between the pressing members which is highly desirable in a machine of this type.

pressing pressure is made efiective automatically by actuation of the motor or power means to bring about initial closing of the pressure between the pressing members is separate and apart from the control means for closinginitlal engagement of the pressing members. By my invention, a pressing device is provided wherein simultaneous operation of the controlling means is necessary in order to bring about initial engagement of the press-.

in members but such control means may be refeased after the pressing members have c-been brought into initial engagement. Then, V I

the desired presing pressure will be exertedhaustport leading therefrom, a valve in said by the pressing members automatically, such final pressing pressure being efiective untilreleased by control means sep'ilii'late and apart from the means for contro g the initial engagement of the pressing niembers. Stillanother'advantag'eous feature resides in the fact that I'ha've provided a quick-acting pressing machine wherein the pressing memr bers ment and I claim: f-

may be quickly brought into engagequickly separated,

-- 1. A garment 'pr'ess, comprising relatively movable pressingmembers, press closing mechanism including 'a cylinder and iston type operating motor, said cylinder" being in a communication with a valve chamber and trolling valves connected in series, said valves her and provided with normally closed conbeing adapted when'bothare opened to per-' mit flow of fluid pressure to said valve chami her for actuating the valve therein to close the exhaust port andca-use operation of the piston to close the press, and a final pressure fluid supply'lineleading to said valve chamher, a normally'closed valvein said final pressure supply line'fand means for opening said last named valve by] and in timed relation with movement of thefpress closing.,mecha-' nism, to supply fluid pressure to said cylinder when the press has been closed.

2; A garment press comprismg, relatively movable pressing: members, press ,closing mechanism" including a cylinder and piston type operating motor, said cylinder being in communication =with"a valve chamber and normally with an exhaust port leading therefrom, a valve insaid'chamber, a' fiuid'supply line leading to said valve chamber andpro- ,vided with normally closed controlling valves connected in series, said valves being adapted when both are opened-to permit flowof fluid pressure to. said valve-chamber for moving the valve therein lEOaClGSQ the exhaust port and cause operationof the motor piston to cause closure ofthe press, and anothervalve controlled fluid supply line leading to said valve chamber, a normally closed valve in said supply line, means for opening said last named valve by and in timed relation'with movement of the press closing mechanism to supply fluid pressurevto the motor cylinder after the press isfclosed, and operator-operated means for closing said val'ves. to'cut ofi the supply of fluidz pressure' to saidcylinder and place said -=cylinder ;ii -communication with theexhaust port.

3.:A garment press, comprising relatively movable. pressing'members, acylinder and piston type operating motor therefor, said cylinder being. in "'communication with a valve chamber-[and normally "with an exchamber, a fluid supply line leading to slid valve chamber and under the control ofjnormally closed valves "connected in'ser-ies in 1 whenopened to permit flow of fluid izpressure to said valve chamber for moving e valve therein to close the exhaust port and o communication between the fluid supply e and said cylinder, whereby the piston of the motor means may be actuated to cause closure 7 of the press, another fluid supply line leading to said valve chamber, a normally closed valve A in said supsly line, and mechanism intercomnecting sai last named valve and said operating motor, whereby said valve is opene by and m timed relation with movement of the operating motor.

In testimony whereof I hereby aflix my signature.

' JOHN P. SINGISER. 

